Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design

If you're thinking of building a house and engaging the services of an architectural firm, this is a fabulous overview of the ten elements essential to creating an appealing single-family home. The text is clear and engaging and the accompanying photographs support the authors' point. I wish I'd read this book sooner, but I can assure you I'll read it again. This book should be first on your list if you're educating yourself about design principles.

There are a lot of books on residential architecture that show beautiful house designs. This book takes a different tact that I find most interesting. Instead of looking at the house first and then emphasizing features, it turns the process around. This book defines ten elements, or essentials, or patterns that help to define what goes into houses that are time proven to be a part of the design of exceptional houses. The book defines these points and then illustrates what they are talking about through pictures and description of several houses that illustrate what they are talking about. Several houses are used on each of the ten points, because there is no one way to design a house. For instance the first point is 'Inhabting the Site.' And sites vary. The site on a mountainside is dramatic. But it may be a long commute from the site in the historic community in which you work. And the house in an urban neighborhood is different than one in a suburb. The other patterns discussed such as light, use of materials, great room designs -- all have various ways that they have been implemented, and are illustrated. This is a different kind of book and brings new concepts to the individuals think of a new or remodelled house.

The authors of this book have taken the best of Alexander's "A Pattern Language", and combined wonderfully designed and excellently photographed homes to publish an inspiring and thought provoking book. Frankly, the world has too many "500 House Plans" types of books. This one describes the logic, reason, and common sense that involves the interlocking of ten basic patterns that could make any basic design more successful. As a residential architect, I consider this among my five top-rated books.

"Patterns of Home" simply is a wonderful book. It contains some of the most beautiful residences anywhere, gorgeously photographed and described. The book also makes a lot of sense. In a time when so many "design" books are self-serving treatises on a particular style or philosophy, "Patterns of Home" steers clear of jargon and techno-babble. The book delivers ten distinct, yet complementary studies (patterns) that serve to wonderfully illustrate how a house can truly be a home. I am an architect in private practice and I design several custom homes or estates per year along with my commercial, institutional and other commissions. While this in no way makes me an expert, it does allow me to highly recommend this book to those seeking to improve the livability of their home, or design meaning into a home. Even if one is not involved in, or contemplating such a project, this book is a great source of ideas and... well, it has a great deal of tremendous pictures!I am heartened to see Jacobson, Silverstein and Winslow put forth such an accessible, readable and pleasant book on a subject that has been dangerously worn out recently. The material in "Patterns of Home" is not necessarily new, but the presentation of it in such a thoughtful manner is valuable and meaningful. The arrangement of the material is logical, starting with site planning, spatial relationships, and the basics of shelter, light and proportion. The transition into feeling, perception and texture is seamless and rewarding to experience.The chapter (pattern) on "Refuge and Outlook" addresses a concept dear to my heart. My own home high in the Southern California mountains embodies much of this concept. The presentation of this concept gave words to things I've often struggled to explain. I was very moved by the elegant, yet simple language used to present this and the nine other patterns. The ability to crisply and efficiently write about ideas and concepts that can easily become mired in technical or philosophical discourse is not common. It is precisely this skill that the authors bring to this work, and which makes "Patterns of Home" so useful. The authors clearly appear to practice what they preach, and the honesty that I sense in this book is refreshing. I commend the authors on producing a book that is highly informative in a very sensible way.This book is a companion to Lawler's "A Home for the Soul" on my display table. I heartily give "Patterns of Home" five stars.